Chapter 07
Maylily
After all the classes ended, I was getting ready to head back to the Rubiche mansion when a young lady approached me.
As the chatter of students leaving school filled the hallway, I closed my locker and turned to face the girl with lavender-colored hair.
“Um… Lady Rubiche.”
It was Lady Obidos, the host of last week’s tea party where Cheodor had caused such a scene.
“Nice to see you again, Lady Obidos.”
Though we were in the same class and had seen each other in passing, we’d never formally spoken before. I made sure to smile as warmly as I could.
“Oh, and about that incident the other day—I’m sorry. I mean the thing with Prince Reynold.”
At my apology, Lady Obidos raised her hand to her lips and shook her head.
“Oh, please, it’s fine. Really. You two looked lovely together.”
Was she being sincere? Hard to tell. Nobles never speak plainly—most of them mean the opposite of what they say.
“Well, thank you for saying that. But… was there something you wanted to ask me?”
Lady Obidos hesitated for a moment, as if she had an amusing secret to share, then suddenly asked something completely unexpected.
“Will you be enrolling in university, my lady?”
Why would she ask that? I blinked, a bit puzzled, but nodded.
“Yes. I’m planning to apply to Alpine University, in the Department of Magic. I’ve even chosen a minor—Economics.”
Since I possessed magical power, my first choice had to be the Magic Department. If I learned proper magic, I could make enchanted items, become a magic instructor, or do countless other things.
Economics as a minor made sense for the same reason—it was something practical, something I would need in the long run.
I had to study a lot. All the things people here learned naturally, I had to force myself to catch up on from scratch.
“I see. I’d heard that most noble ladies don’t go to university…”
Lady Obidos smiled faintly, a little awkwardly.
“I worried it might look strange if I was the only one. I didn’t want to be treated like an oddball. But knowing that you’ll be there too… I feel relieved.”
Her words stirred a bit of sympathy in me.
I, of course, didn’t care about those kinds of prejudices—I’d lived in modern society, where such notions were outdated—but for a noble like her, that fear made perfect sense.
“Then… would it be all right if I studied with you? For the entrance exam, I mean.”
Lady Obidos looked up at me with wide, sparkling eyes—like a little rabbit. How could anyone say no to that?
And so, the very next day, I began studying with Lady Obidos—Armand—and our new study sessions began.
Lady Armand Obidos often came directly to the Rubiche mansion.
More often than I visited her home, in fact. That was simply because she was far more impatient than I had thought—she absolutely hated waiting.
Thankfully, every time she came, Cheodor happened to be out on business. I couldn’t imagine what kind of chaos might ensue otherwise, considering the way he’d ruined her last tea party.
“Ena!”
Without even knocking, Leoel burst through my door like an untrained commoner, then froze the instant he saw Armand.
“Uh…”
He trailed off, looking like an idiot.
Was he really a noble? I sighed and shook my head.
Armand, who’d been sitting with me at the desk in the study, immediately rose to her feet and curtsied politely.
“Hello, Lord Rubiche. I’m Armand Audrey Obidos.”
Leoel blinked, clearly flustered, before giving a stiff nod.
“Ah, yes, hello. Lady Obidos. I’m Leoel Theodore Rubiche.”
I watched him—like a broken machine—stumbling through his greeting, and asked flatly,
“What brings you here?”
“Huh? Uh?”
I let out a sigh. Why did he always sound like that?
“Just… come in already.”
He nodded dumbly, still glancing at Armand as if he couldn’t quite believe his eyes, and stepped into the study.
Did he just fall for her or something?
As I tilted my head in mild disbelief, Leoel looked between Armand and me with genuine surprise.
“This is the first time I’ve seen you bring someone other than Prince Reynold here. You don’t have friends.”
Oh, I really wanted to hit him.
Unbothered, Leoel strolled over to the desk, peering over the books and papers scattered across it.
“What are you two doing?”
I shrugged, gesturing toward the open books.
“As you can see—studying for exams.”
“Ah.”
Leoel sighed briefly and, looking bored, began flipping through some of the books. Eventually, he slipped into a seat across from us.
I eyed him suspiciously, still holding my quill.
“You came here because you’re bored, didn’t you?”
He twitched—caught red-handed—and looked away, his blue eyes darting everywhere.
I grabbed the thickest history book on the desk and pushed it toward him.
“Then make yourself useful. You were top of your class in history at the academy, weren’t you?”
“Oh my, really? I’ve been meaning to ask something, then.”
Armand clasped her hands together and looked at him expectantly. Under that sparkle in her eyes, Leoel looked a bit uneasy and turned to me for help.
“If you don’t want to, forget it.”
At that, Leoel quickly shook his head. Apparently, he was willing to help.
“Great. Then, question one.”
I opened the history book and pointed to a passage. Since there were no prep books or practice tests in this world, even straightforward memorization subjects required a lot of back-and-forth discussion.
“About the last fairy race that existed a hundred years ago—the Niar fairies. They supposedly vanished without a trace, but how did they know for sure they’d died out?”
When studying the history of the god Ianarche, one inevitably learned about the Niar fairies. They’d played a surprisingly major role in the early development of the Ianarche Papacy.
In a world with magic, divine power, and monsters, fairies weren’t all that extraordinary—but they were certainly rare. Even after a century, people still spoke of them as mythical beings.
“Ah, there’s a record of that in a book about fairy history. About fifty years after the Niar disappeared, a skeleton was discovered in Mount Kirx. Scholars spent the next fifty years analyzing it, and the results showed that the bone structure matched that of the Niar fairy species almost exactly.”
Leoel went on to explain the details, even taking out a quill to sketch the terrain of Mount Kirx.
“The Niar first appeared near the base of this mountain. And that’s where the remains were found too.”
“So they’re not completely sure—but it’s fairly convincing.”
He nodded. Armand, meanwhile, listened intently and took notes with great focus.
Seeing her so eager must have inspired Leoel, because he grew more and more animated, giving us what turned into a full-on private lecture.
And, surprisingly enough, he was really good at teaching. Incredibly good, actually.
Still, the person who ended up helping me the most with my university entrance prep was none other than that jerk, Cheodor.
“I never thought I’d have to take a college entrance exam again,” I muttered.
Cheodor, who had volunteered to help, clicked his tongue.
“Compared to South Korean exam students, this is nothing.”
“You can’t compare it! It’s a totally different field. Korean college entrance exams don’t include magic studies!”
He tilted his head, conceding that point with a short nod.
This world might be bound by an ironclad class system, but because of the existence of magic, an educated middle class had emerged, the bourgeoisie had formed, and women were able to join society in new ways.
Still, prejudice persisted, and noblewomen’s social advancement was sluggish.
“But seriously, Cheodor—no, Cha Do-hyuk—why are you so good at magic? For what possible reason? It’s not like you need to use magic—you can just hire a magician!”
I slammed my fists on the desk, fuming. Cheodor flinched, startled, clutching his chest before giving me an incredulous look.
He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes slightly, then let out a soft chuckle, sipping his tea.
“Does it really bother you that I’m good at everything?”
“Yes. It’s infuriating! Why do I always have to be one step behind you?”
He choked on his tea.
“Wha—Cho—Cheo…!”
He couldn’t even finish the word, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he stared at me.
The memory of all the times he’d scolded me back when he was my boss burned hot in my mind.
I’d always been competent. Back in Korea, senior writers and producers used to compete to recruit me.
But Cheodor… was just too perfect. That’s why I could never win an argument against him.
Ugh, fine. I’ll just have to work harder.
As I scribbled through a set of equations, a shadow fell over me. Cheodor stood behind me, leaning over my shoulder to look at my work.
“I think your formula’s off.”
“Huh?”
He placed his hand gently over mine and corrected the equation.
I stared blankly at the neat solution he’d written. Damn it—it was flawless.
My eyes widened as I looked from the paper to him.
“Weren’t you a liberal arts major?”
“Hm? No.”
Cheodor straightened up, leaning casually against the windowsill and rubbing his chin.
“Why would you think that? I wasn’t.”
“Wait—weren’t you in the Broadcasting and Communications Department at Hankuk University? I was sure you were my senior!”
I’d just assumed that since we were in the same field, we’d overlapped—but maybe not at all.
Cheodor thought for a moment, then let out a short laugh.
“Ah, right. I had a friend in that department, so I hung out there a lot. My major was Mechanical Engineering. Did people really think otherwise?”
Mechanical Engineering?!
My jaw nearly dropped. Of course he was an engineering student—of course.
My eyes lit up involuntarily. I’d always had this vague admiration for people in that field.
Unbelievable. This man had no weaknesses—none.
Fine. Then I’d just have to study harder. Hard enough to catch up to him someday.
I gripped my quill tightly again. Just wait, Cha Do-hyuk. I’ll catch up to you if it’s the last thing I do!
